The Roman Empire Peaked In 117 AD What did Ancient Rome look like at its peak in 117 AD? The map below from Visual Capitalist shows the maximum territorial extent ever achieved by the Roman Empire , just after their successful wars in the east, where Emperor Trajan captured Dacia (Romania), Armenia, Mesopotamia, Assyria, and the Parthian capital of Ctesiphon (in modern-day Iraq). Click on the map ...
The Roman Empire Peaked In 117 AD What did Ancient Rome look like at its peak in 117 AD? The map below from Visual Capitalist shows the maximum territorial extent ever achieved by the Roman Empire , just after their successful wars in the east, where Emperor Trajan captured Dacia (Romania), Armenia, Mesopotamia, Assyria, and the Parthian capital of Ctesiphon (in modern-day Iraq). Click on the map to expand... As Visual Capitalist explains further, although Trajan is rated as one of the best Roman Emperors by historians and was considered one of the strongest military leaders in Roman history, the reality is that the peak he achieved was very short-lived. We’ll dig into that and more as we explain this map, which covers one of the most interesting periods in history, leveraging classical and modern sources including Cassius Dio, Plutarch, Cambridge Ancient History, Walter Scheidel, Fergus Millar, Adrian Goldsworthy, Anthony Everitt, and Encyclopaedia Britannica. Trajan: The First Emperor Born Outside of Italy Trajan was born in Italica, Spain, near modern-day Seville. He was a career soldier and became an extremely competent and respected general. He was adopted as the heir to the childless Nerva, and became emperor after Nerva’s passing in 98 AD. Once emperor, Trajan was famous for his civic investment and military expansion. He built roads, harbors, aqueducts, and the Forum of Trajan in Rome—but he also conquered distant lands decisively. The Roman Empire at its Overextended Peak Various limits—cultural, geographical, logistical, and administrative—seem to prevent historical empires from achieving infinite expansion. Trajan tested these limits and eventually came upon the breaking point. Dacia (Romania) was arguably his greatest military achievement and remained a Roman province for almost two centuries after. His experiments to the East, however, were less of a slam dunk. His battles with Parthia (the other Mediterranean superpower at the time) led to quick expans...
CHOLTICHA KRANJUMNONG/iStock via Getty Images My thesis Donegal Group Inc. ( DGICA ) ( DGICB ) started 2026 with a clear strategic message: profitability is more important than growth. The stock is currently traded in the $17.60 range, which implies a 1.04x book value, and that is way lower than the sector median of around 1.4x, though this discount has a basis. 2025 yearly results show an essenti...
CHOLTICHA KRANJUMNONG/iStock via Getty Images My thesis Donegal Group Inc. ( DGICA ) ( DGICB ) started 2026 with a clear strategic message: profitability is more important than growth. The stock is currently traded in the $17.60 range, which implies a 1.04x book value, and that is way lower than the sector median of around 1.4x, though this discount has a basis. 2025 yearly results show an essential operational breakthrough: the combined ratio improved to 95.4% compared to last year's 98.6%, which suggests that the main insurance business is finally generating stable profits. Though margin expansion was reached by sacrificing income, net premiums fell 4%, the company aggressively cut its loss-making personal insurance portfolio, and focused on commercial clients. For investors, 4.1% dividend yield and ROE increased up to 13.4%, which looks solid, though the market is still waiting for confirmations that the company can grow without sacrificing profitability. This is not a growth story; this is a classic turnaround case, with the price still close to liquidation value. Business overview Donegal Group Inc. operates as an insurance holding company, offering property and casualty insurance through subsidiaries in the Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, and South regions. The company 's model is built on a strictly defined independent agent network, rather than direct sales for the consumer, which lets it maintain lower customer service costs but increases commission costs. At the end of 2025, the company reported a net income of $79.3 million, which is a significant jump from the $50.9 million in 2024, mostly because of improved risk management. Financial stability depends on 2 main segments: commercial and personal lines. In 2025 combined ratio improved to 95.4%, showing that the company is finally making a profit from the insurance business, and not only from its investment portfolio. Though net premiums earned dropped 1.7% to $921.2 million, signaling a sacrifice of income to rea...
LIV Golf香港站次回合 麥道爾一桿入洞 To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video 【有線新聞】LIV Golf香港站次回合有球手一桿入洞。 第7洞192碼,麥道爾將球打到旗杆前大概1碼直接滾入洞口,在這個三桿洞做出...
LIV Golf香港站次回合 麥道爾一桿入洞 To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video 【有線新聞】LIV Golf香港站次回合有球手一桿入洞。 第7洞192碼,麥道爾將球打到旗杆前大概1碼直接滾入洞口,在這個三桿洞做出「老鷹」,全日打出低標準7桿的63,總成績並列第8。粉嶺球場這日開始刮風,提升不少比賽難度。首回合打出低10桿獨佔榜首的奧迪斯,這日表現回落,3度超標,加上7隻「小鳥」,次回合得低4桿的66,總成績被保美斯特追上,同樣是低14桿的126。
"Once stranded, the animals were unable to refloat themselves due to a combination of surf generated by onshore winds and the soft sand substrate on the beach."
"Once stranded, the animals were unable to refloat themselves due to a combination of surf generated by onshore winds and the soft sand substrate on the beach."
Spice Footage/iStock via Getty Images The Invesco DB Agriculture Fund ( DBA ) has changed little in price since I last referenced the ETF in October 2024 as part of my narrative on cocoa prices. While DBA is where I left it, cocoa has been left far behind. In 2024, DBA was a sufficient proxy for trading on the price of cocoa because cocoa futures had the largest allocation in the ETF at 13%. Moreo...
Spice Footage/iStock via Getty Images The Invesco DB Agriculture Fund ( DBA ) has changed little in price since I last referenced the ETF in October 2024 as part of my narrative on cocoa prices. While DBA is where I left it, cocoa has been left far behind. In 2024, DBA was a sufficient proxy for trading on the price of cocoa because cocoa futures had the largest allocation in the ETF at 13%. Moreover, cocoa's volatility drove a lot of volatility in DBA. Now, cocoa futures are a meager 2.6% of DBA with the smallest share of DBA's 13 components. This plunge in ranking accompanies a collapse in the price of cocoa and the bursting of a price bubble. The unraveling started with the cooling in price that I described in 2024 and continues with today's complete reversal of the breakout in 2023. While commodities usually do not sustain parabolic price moves, the subsequent collapse in cocoa took prices to levels much lower than I expected. The cash price is nearly 80% off its all-time high. The accompanying shrinkage within DBA means there are no substantial equity plays left for cocoa. However, I still recently purchased DBA given conditions for cocoa seem to be about as bad as they can get. Sometime in the future, a return to pricing normalcy for cocoa could contribute to higher levels for DBA. Boom and Bust The collapse in cocoa prices after a sharp run-up is not just a natural result of a parabolic move. Commodities in general experience boom and bust cycles. Higher prices come with a recipe for future lower prices in the form of a supply response and demand destruction. In " Bitter before sweet: The extraordinary journey of cocoa prices ", Nairametrics provides a complete timeline of the boom and bust for cocoa prices. I distilled the narrative into the following diagram: A perfect storm for cocoa price dynamics (Timeline from Nairametrics) Poor weather and deteriorating farm conditions disrupted harvests and created supply deficits. Speculators rushed into a market for...
Global sportswear makers are banking on the post-pandemic running boom to continue in 2026. As the year’s racing season shifts into gear, players like Japan’s ASICS are looking to the world’s biggest competitions to expand their engagement with customers, even before the running begins. Bloomberg reports. (Source: Bloomberg)
Global sportswear makers are banking on the post-pandemic running boom to continue in 2026. As the year’s racing season shifts into gear, players like Japan’s ASICS are looking to the world’s biggest competitions to expand their engagement with customers, even before the running begins. Bloomberg reports. (Source: Bloomberg)